Pokémon Black and White Versions 2
Pokémon Black Version 2 (Japanese: ポケットモンスター ブラック ２ Pocket Monsters Black 2) and Pokémon White Version 2 (Japanese: ポケットモンスター ホワイト ２ Pocket Monsters White 2) are Nintendo DS games that are the second and final paired versions of Generation V. They are sequels to Pokémon Black and White, respectively. These games are enhanced on the Nintendo DSi and Nintendo 3DS families.
| Pokémon Black Version 2 ポケットモンスター ブラック ２ | |
|---|---|
 Pokémon Black Version 2's boxart, featuring Black Kyurem | |
| Pokémon White Version 2 ポケットモンスター ホワイト ２ | |
 Pokémon White Version 2's boxart, featuring White Kyurem | |
Basic info
| |
| Platform: | Nintendo DS (enhanced for the Nintendo DSi) |
| Category: | RPG |
| Players: | 1-4 players simultaneous |
| Connectivity: | DS Wireless, Wi-Fi, IR |
| Developer: | Game Freak |
| Publisher: | Nintendo The Pokémon Company |
| Part of: | Generation V core series |
Ratings
| |
| CERO: | A |
| ESRB: | E |
| ACB: | G |
| OFLC: | G |
| PEGI: | 3 |
| GRAC: | ALL |
| GSRR: | 6+ |
Release dates
| |
| Japan: | June 23, 2012[1] |
| North America: | October 7, 2012[2] |
| Australia: | October 11, 2012[3] |
| Europe: | October 12, 2012[4] |
| South Korea: | November 8, 2012[5] |
| Hong Kong: | June 23, 2012 |
| Taiwan: | June 23, 2012 |
Websites
| |
| Japanese: | Nintendo.co.jp Official site |
| English: | Pokémon.com Nintendo.com (Black 2) Nintendo.com (White 2) Official site |
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Japanese boxart
 Boxart of Pocket Monsters Black 2  Boxart of Pocket Monsters White 2 | |
Both games were revealed on Pokémon Smash! by Junichi Masuda, and subsequently the official Japanese and international[6] Pokémon websites, on February 26, 2012. They were released in Japan on June 23, 2012, in North America on October 7, 2012, in Australia on October 11, 2012, in Europe on October 12, 2012 and in South Korea on November 8, 2012.
The games feature two new forms of Kyurem that serve as the game mascots of the games: Black Kyurem for Black 2 and White Kyurem for White 2.
Plot
Pokémon Black and White 2 takes place two years after the events of Pokémon Black and White. Many changes have taken place in Unova over this period: new locations are accessible in the southwest and northeast of the region, and some previously existing locations cannot be visited or are restricted until later in the game. Three new Gym Leaders and a new Champion are introduced, while the Unova Pokédex is expanded to include Pokémon that are foreign to the region, much like in Pokémon Platinum.
The player—named, by default, Nate if male or Rosa if female—begins in the southwestern city Aspertia City. After receiving their first partner Pokémon from Professor Juniper's assistant Bianca, they are encouraged to battle in Pokémon Gyms and aim for the Pokémon League. A boy from the player's hometown, Hugh, will travel with the player at certain times. Though filling the traditional rival role, Hugh is not pursuing the Pokémon League challenge: it is revealed that he is trying to recover a stolen Pokémon from Team Plasma, who were not disbanded two years prior as expected.
Over the course of their journey, the player and Hugh will have numerous encounters with both current and former members of Team Plasma, as well as the mysterious scientist Colress. One of the Seven Sages, Zinzolin, appears in an antagonistic role, yet former sage Rood will help the player. The plot comes to a head when Zinzolin freezes Opelucid City in ice with a combination of technology and the legendary dragon Kyurem, which Team Plasma has captured. The player must defeat Team Plasma including its new leader Ghetsis to free Kyurem. Ghetsis will combine the power of Kyurem with the power of the legendary dragon befriended by his son two years earlier and force Kyurem to fuse with ZekromB2 or ReshiramW2. Only once Kyurem is safe and Team Plasma has been disbanded can the player continue their journey to the Pokémon League.
After the main plot of the game has been completed, many inaccessible parts of Unova, including the Skyarrow Bridge, will be unlocked. Further Pokémon not native to Unova will be available, and the legendary Pokémon ZekromB2/ReshiramW2 and Kyurem will reveal themselves to the player. When they are caught, the player will be able to fuse the Pokémon and change Kyurem's form at will.
Blurb
Two powers combine... A new legend arises!
Set off on a new Pokémon adventure to save the Unova region! You and your Pokémon can accomplish anything together!
Changes from Pokémon Black and White
Gameplay
- The new Unova Link is introduced, which makes way for new features.
- Challenge Mode and Easy Mode are introduced, which raise and lower the strength of opposing Trainers respectively.
- A new feature called the Memory Link is introduced, which reveals flashbacks from the NPCs that shed light on events that happened between Black and White and Black 2 and White 2.
- Many TMs and all but one HM are received in different locations.
- The Xtransceiver adds two new mini-games called Balloon Catch, where the player needs to catch balloons of their face or an NPC's, and Balloon Smash, where the player needs to inflate the balloons as large as possible without bursting them.
- The Move Tutors are back, and as with Pokémon Platinum, they teach most of the moves that were in that game for Shards, but here they all ask for shards of a specific color. They also teach many moves that lost their TM status, such as Dark Pulse, Roost, and Stealth Rock.
- If the player has used a Repel, after its effect wears off, and if the player has more Repels in their Bag, they will be asked if they would like to use another immediately without having to go into the menu.
- A number of legendaries from Hoenn and Sinnoh (excluding the super-ancient Pokémon and the Pokémon of Myth) can be found in the post-game.
- Zorua, Zoroark, and TM95 (Snarl), which were previously accessible through Nintendo events only, can now be found within the game without any special requirements.
- The forces of nature are notably the only Unova regional Pokémon absent from either game and must be obtained through the Pokémon Dream Radar and then transferred (or, alternatively, they can be traded from Black and White). The Dream Radar is also necessary to obtain their new forms.
- Breeding was changed—the Everstone now always passes down Nature (if both parents hold Everstone, one parent's Nature is randomly picked).
- All Pokémon Breeders will now challenge the player again every time the player crosses their line of sight after exiting and re-entering the areas in which they are found.
- Hidden Grottos are introduced and scattered all over Unova, giving access to many items and Pokémon with their Hidden Abilities, many of which were previously unobtainable.
- Watchog's EV yield is changed from 1 Attack to 2 Attack.
- Players can now move held items between Pokémon in their party.
Storyline
- The player no longer starts in Nuvema Town, instead starting in Aspertia City.
- Instead of the usual 5 Poké Balls, the player is given 10 at the start of their journey.
- Chili, Cress, Cilan; Lenora and Brycen are replaced by Cheren, Roxie and Marlon as Gym Leaders, respectively.
- Bianca gives the player a first partner Pokémon in Aspertia City.
- A new Team Plasma has formed, and is run by Colress, who battles the player frequently throughout the story. Ghetsis is once again the secret mastermind behind the Team, now planning to freeze Unova with Kyurem.
- Rood, Zinzolin, and the Shadow Triad are battled as part of the story.
- The Gym Leader order has changed to Cheren, Roxie, Burgh, Elesa, Clay, Skyla, Drayden, Marlon.
- Alder is replaced by Iris as the Champion of Unova.
- N returns to Unova with either ZekromB2 or ReshiramW2, who is then fused with Kyurem to form either Black KyuremB2 or White KyuremW2.
- Unlike Pokémon Black and White, neither the game mascots Black KyuremB2 or White KyuremW2 can be caught within the story, but can be obtained post-game by following certain requirements.
- Cobalion and Virizion interact with the player, making it possible to catch them during the storyline, although it is possible to catch all three Pokémon including Terrakion.
- Several tag battles take place throughout the game: one with the other player character, two with Cheren, four with Hugh, one with Bianca, and a daily tag battle with one of either Chili, Cress, or Cilan against the other two brothers.
- A new attraction known as the Pokémon World Tournament opens up in Driftveil City, where the player battles Gym Leaders and Champions from all five regions, among others.
- Another new attraction introduced is the Pokéstar Studios, located in Virbank City, where the player takes part in many different movies. Brycen and Sabrina appear here.
- Lenora revives the player's Fossils.
- Several new Key Items exclusive to Black and White 2 are introduced.
- During the post-game, the player may find N at his castle and on the first visit, battle his ZekromB2 or ReshiramW2, who is free for capture after defeating N. Subsequent battles can be done once a season and feature N using a team of Pokémon centered around that season.
- Several areas that were previously limited to the post-game of Black and White are now part of the main story. In contrast, some of the areas that were formerly part of the main story are now limited to the post-game.
Graphics
- The opening is drastically different from the one in Black and White, now featuring the new game characters, the Tao trio, and the Swords of Justice. Also, the title screen shows either Black Kyurem or White Kyurem, depending on the version.
- The bar that shows a Pokémon's level, experience points, and HP has been redesigned. It is black in Black 2 and white in White 2.
- The area change indicator has also been redesigned and shows the location in the top left of the screen and season in the bottom right. It is black in Black 2 and white in White 2.
- Cheren, Bianca, Elesa, Ghetsis, and Iris all receive redesigns.
- All Unova Gyms receive redesigns, including newly remixed music in all but the Aspertia Gym.
- Most of the Black and White music has been slightly remixed, in addition to the Gym Leader and Champion music from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh.
- There have been several changes made to existing locations, such as Driftveil City and Nimbasa City.
- Every Trainer has their own fully animated sprite. They have more frames, allowing for smoother animations.
- Several moves have received new battle animations.
- The battle menu has been redesigned.
- The C-Gear has been redesigned.
- The Unova Pokédex has been expanded tremendously to accommodate older Pokémon.
- It also receives a slight aesthetic change, now having a red background instead of green.
- The Pokédex also receives an upgrade in the form of the Habitat List. It consists of a list of all visited places, with the Pokémon found there listed (if they have been seen). The player will sometimes receive prizes from certain NPCs when a certain area is filled.
- All returning Gym Leaders and Champions receive new sprites. This also applies for the overworld sprites.
- Route 4 has changed drastically and also differs between Black 2 and White 2.
- A new landmark with aesthetic differences between the two versions is introduced, the Reversal Mountain.
- Victory Road changed drastically from Black and White to Black 2 and White 2 as well and differs in appearance between Black 2 and White 2. It has also changed location.
- Challenger's Cave's entrance collapsed, while Route 10 was blocked off due to a landslide on Victory Road, making both areas inaccessible.
- In place of Cold Storage, there is now the Pokémon World Tournament.
- Places marked on the map with green dots in Black and White are now marked with green squares. Also, now when they are tapped they become red (though they still cannot be flown to). This was only true of Liberty Garden in Black and White.
- During battles in tall grass, there are now visible tufts of grass around the platform, with varying colors depending on the season.
- Following the battle at Opelucid Gym, Team Plasma will freeze Opelucid City (along with a portion of the neighboring routes, Route 9 and Route 11), which will last until after the player has entered the Hall of Fame.
- The weather icons have been redesigned and are smaller.
Pokémon World Tournament
- Main article: Pokémon World Tournament
A new facility featured in Black 2 and White 2 is the Pokémon World Tournament, where the player is able to battle every Gym Leader and Champion (except Koga and Iris) from the core series games in various types of battles.
Pokéstar Studios
- Main article: Pokéstar Studios
Pokéstar Studios is a new feature in the games that allows the player to take part in making films involving Pokémon. The player chooses from various scenarios and acts them out.
Medals
- Main article: Medal (Black 2 and White 2)
Medals are a new type of achievement system. They are obtained from Mr. Medal at any Pokémon Center and are stored in the Medal Box.
Seasons
- Main article: Season (game mechanic)
Seasons once again return to the games. In addition to covering the entire screen upon starting the games, a text box appears at the bottom of the screen presenting the current season every time a new area is entered.
Word filter
The filter that censors certain words in name inputs remains. The restriction on using four numerical digits is removed but only for Box names in the Pokémon Storage System.
Sprite animations
Just like in Pokémon Black and White, the Pokémon sprites are fully animated and move throughout battles. However, unlike Black and White, every Trainer in the game has battle animations, as well as more frames which allow for smoother animations.
The game also introduces new entry sprite animations for Pokémon, much as if it were a Shiny Pokémon.
- N's Pokémon, which are obtainable through Memory Link, (with the exception of N's Zorua, who is obtainable during the main plot) have a green/yellow diamond shine, along with their own sound.
- Also, in the Pokéstar Studios, when a player successfully completes a movie with their Pokémon in an unusual matter by deviating from the script, their Pokémon will become a star and during battles, when the Pokémon is summoned, a star will bounce upwards and then back downwards. This is the only entry animation that can be added manually by the player.
Pokémon
Each game features a Pokédex of 301 different Pokémon species, many of which are from previous generations such as Growlithe, Psyduck, and Marill.
Version-exclusive Pokémon
- Normally unavailable, Regice and Registeel can be caught in Black 2 and White 2, respectively, after trading respective keys from game which has unlocked them. Initially, Regice's key is unlocked in White 2, and Registeel's in Black 2.
Compatibility
Black 2 and White 2 can connect with the Pokémon Dream Radar, which transfers Pokémon found to the player's game. The Pokémon Global Link has also been updated to make way for the release of Black 2 and White 2. The games are compatible with Black and White, much as Platinum is to Diamond and Pearl. The games can connect as with games of the same generation, and they operate on the same Global Trade System server. Pokémon from Generation IV games (Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, and SoulSilver) can be transferred to these games using the Poké Transfer.
However, they are not entirely compatible with Pokémon Black and White as the updated Black 2 and White 2 Entralink no longer features the ability to travel into another player's "world" and thus Pass Powers are instead earned through minigames that take place in the hubworld. Likewise, a player in Black or White cannot connect with a Black 2 or White 2 player via the Entralink system.
DSi features
Pokémon Black and White Versions 2 are DSi-enhanced games, meaning that they have certain features which are only enabled when played on a system in the Nintendo DSi or Nintendo 3DS family. These features include the following:
- These games can recognize and connect to routers with WPA connections.
- The user-facing camera can be used during Xtransceiver communications with other players.
- The C-Gear shows the system power using three bars in a battery icon, rather than two on older Nintendo DS systems.
- The game icon is animated when viewed on the Nintendo DSi or 3DS home screen—the Poké Ball inside the icon wiggles.
- Various menus scroll more quickly (such as the Pokédex and Bag), and they take slightly less time to load.
- Japanese versions of Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 are region-locked, so can only be played on Japanese-region Nintendo DSi and Nintendo 3DS systems; however, because the Nintendo DS and DS Lite do not support region-locking, they can be played on these systems regardless of region. The Korean and Western language releases are not region-locked, so can be played on any Nintendo DS or 3DS system regardless of region. Incompatible on iQue DSi and iQue 3DS XL systems.
Localization changes
- The lyrics for the Virbank Gym music differ between the Japanese and international releases. In Japanese versions, she spells out "Dogars" which is Koffing's Japanese name. In the international versions she spells out "Pokémon" and does not start the song by saying "1, 2, 3, 4!"
- After entering the Hall of Fame, there is a post-game story section where the player follows N's Zoroark to N's Castle. In Japanese versions, if the player exits out of the cave that Zoroark just went into instead of following them, it causes the game to softlock. This was fixed in international versions.
Reception
Gaming magazine Famitsu gave Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 a score of 36 out of 40,[7] lower than Black and White's perfect grade.[8] IGN rated the games an "Amazing" 9.6/10, calling them more "than just a slightly expanded repackaging of the latest generation's core titles (a la Pokémon Yellow, Crystal, Emerald or Platinum)" and saying that they feature "a stunning amount of fresh content" over their predecessors,[9] which received a 9.0/10 from the site.[10] Both Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 hold a rating of 80% on Metacritic.[11][12]
Sales
As of March 31, 2013, Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 have sold 7.81 million copies worldwide.[13]
Japanese sales
Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 sold 1,561,738 units on their first week on the Japanese market,[14] being 816,576 from Pokémon Black 2 and 745,162 from Pokémon White 2, with a sell-through of 82.91% and 77.43% respectively. By December 29, 2013, the end of their 80th week, they had sold 3,076,701 copies, being 1,629,125 from Pokémon Black 2 and 1,447,576 from Pokémon White 2.[15]
| Week | Week ending | Ranking | Units sold | Total units sold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | June 24, 2012 | 1st | 1,561,738 | 1,561,738 |
| 2 | July 1, 2012 | 1st | 420,780 | 1,982,518 |
| 3 | July 8, 2012 | 1st | 184,648 | 2,167,166 |
| 4 | July 15, 2012 | 1st | 122,242 | 2,289,408 |
| 5 | July 22, 2012 | 2nd | 92,178 | 2,381,586 |
| 6 | July 29, 2012 | 4th | 73,420 | 2,455,006 |
| 7 | August 5, 2012 | 3rd | 66,758 | 2,521,764 |
| 8 | August 12, 2012 | 3rd | 60,421 | 2,582,185 |
| 9 | August 19, 2012 | 2nd | 62,274 | 2,644,459 |
| 10 | August 26, 2012 | 3rd | 33,955 | 2,678,414 |
| 11 | September 2, 2012 | 8th | 29,186 | 2,707,600 |
| 12 | September 9, 2012 | 4th | 21,592 | 2,729,192 |
| 13 | September 16, 2012 | 6th | 18,266 | 2,747,458 |
| 14 | September 23, 2012 | 8th | 16,274 | 2,763,732 |
| 15 | September 30, 2012 | 12th | 13,427 | 2,777,159 |
| 16 | October 7, 2012 | 10th | 12,208 | 2,789,367 |
| 17 | October 14, 2012 | 13th | 10,100 | 2,799,467 |
| 18 | October 21, 2012 | 12th | 8,382 | 2,807,849 |
| 19 | October 28, 2012 | 16th | 7,402 | 2,815,250 |
| 20 | November 4, 2012 | 20th | 7,166 | 2,822,416 |
| 28 | December 30, 2012 | 26th | - | 2,919,977 |
| 80 | December 29, 2013 | - | - | 3,076,701 |
Staff
- Main article: Staff of Pokémon Black 2 and White 2
Music
- Main article: Pokémon Black & Pokémon White: Super Music Collection
The soundtrack contains all of the background music used in Pokémon Black and White (the basis for a portion of the music in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2), composed by Shota Kageyama, Junichi Masuda, Hitomi Satō, Gō Ichinose, Morikazu Aoki, Minako Adachi, and Satoshi Nohara. The music is arranged by Shota Kageyama, Hitomi Satō, Gō Ichinose, and Minako Adachi.
The soundtrack contains all of the background music from the games (on Discs 1–3, with the exception of the music played within Hidden Grottoes), composed by Hitomi Satō, Gō Ichinose, Junichi Masuda, Shota Kageyama, Teruo Taniguchi, Satoshi Nohara, Minako Adachi, and Morikazu Aoki. The music is arranged by Hitomi Satō and Gō Ichinose, except for less than a tenth of the tracks, which are mostly short sound effects. Notably, Disc 4 of the soundtrack also provides an official release for several tracks exclusive to Pokémon Emerald and Pokémon Platinum.
Beta elements
- Main article: Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 beta
Pre-order bonuses
Players who pre-ordered the games from GameStop received a "Preview Guide" which hints at the new features and storyline, as well as explaining the TCG. It also includes parts of the animated trailer in a comic book-style format. The guide was released online in the UK.
Animated Trailer
A promotional trailer was made to promote Pokémon Black 2 and White 2. The first version was released in Japan on May 17, 2012. A complete version of the trailer incorporating additional footage that depicts Rosa battling Cheren was released on DVD at TSUTAYA on July 13, 2012, and later released on YouTube on August 10, 2012. The English-dubbed version was released on YouTube and Pokémon.com on August 8, 2012, integrating the additional footage of Rosa battling Cheren.
Gallery
Logos
English Black 2 logo
English White 2 logo
Japanese Black 2 logo
Japanese White 2 logo
Korean Black 2 logo
Korean White 2 logo
Title screens
English Black 2 title screen
English White 2 title screen
Japanese Black 2 title screen
Japanese White 2 title screen
Trivia
- The localization period for these games was the shortest worldwide of the core series, having lasted about three and a half months for the majority of the translated versions, with 106 days for North America, 110 for Australia, 111 for Europe and 138 for South Korea.
- This would be the last time a core series game would have a staggered release like this due to localization, as every game from Pokémon X and Y onward would be released simultaneously worldwide.
- These Pokémon games have many differences from the other core series games:
- They are the only games to officially be a direct sequel to a pair of games from the same generation, as well as the only core series games with a number in their title. (Pokémon Gold and Silver were initially advertised to be direct, numbered sequels to Generation I, originally dubbed "Pocket Monsters 2", but this was later changed.)
- They are the only games in which the player's hometown is a city rather than a town.
- They are the only core series games in which the Pokémon Day Care is inaccessible before entering the Hall of Fame.
- They are the first core series games in which the game mascot cannot be obtained without trading before entering the Hall of Fame.
- They are the first core series games where the player can obtain more than one Master Ball without luck-based lottery or multiplayer activity.
- These are the last core series Pokémon games with "Version" in their titles, including equivalent terms in other languages.
- Koga is the only current or former Gym Leader who is not presented in these games.
- The majority of moves with changed animations have a base power of 100 or higher.
- These are the first Pokémon games with a specific point at which the player is forced to save their game in the main story before entering the Hall of Fame. In this case, the player must save after creating their first movie at Pokéstar Studios.
- Black 2 and White 2 were the final core series games released for the Nintendo DS system and its redesigned models, the Nintendo DS Lite, the Nintendo DSi and the Nintendo DSi XL, as well as the final Pokémon games overall released for those systems.
- Black 2 and White 2 are also the final first-party games for the Nintendo DS family of systems.
- While the opening sequence is mostly the same in both games, there are a few differences. Black 2 has Black Kyurem's black silhouette on a dark screen with fog, while White 2 has White Kyurem's white silhouette on a bright screen with fog, after which the yellow crest on Kyurem's head glows and the game's respective logo appears. Later, during the part before Zekrom, there is blue light in the upper left corner in Black 2 and red light in the lower right corner in White 2.
- According to Tsunekazu Ishihara and Junichi Masuda, Black 2 and White 2 were created as paired games instead of the usual single follow-up game because the development team needed two games in order to implement the Key System.[16]
- Of every game in the core series to support online play, Black 2 and White 2 officially supported it for the least amount of time, at only 1 year, 10 months, and 27 days, due to the shutdown of Nintendo WFC in May 2014.
External links
- Official PDF-file manual for Pokémon Black Version 2 (English)
- Official PDF-file manual for Pokémon White Version 2 (English)
In other languages
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See also
References
- ↑ Reputable Pokémon Merchandise site
- ↑ Nintendo of America pressroom[dead link]
- ↑ Nintendo of Australia
- ↑ Pokémon UK
- ↑ Pokémon Korea
- ↑ Pokémon Black Version 2 and Pokémon White Version 2
- ↑ Famitsu review scores (6/19/12) - Nintendo Everything
- ↑ Famitsu gives Black and White perfect score - Bulbanews
- ↑ Pokémon White Version 2 Review - IGN
- ↑ Pokémon White Review - IGN
- ↑ Pokémon Black Version 2 for DS Reviews - Metacritic
- ↑ Pokémon White Version 2 for DS Reviews - Metacritic
- ↑ Nintendo Co., Ltd. - Financial Results Briefing for Fiscal Year Ended March 2013
- ↑ Media Create Sales: 6/18/12 – 6/24/12 - 4Gamer.net (Japanese)
- ↑ Media Create Sales: 2013 CY {2012.12.31 - 2013.12.29} | NeoGAF
- ↑ Iwata Asks
- ↑ Images of B2W2 pamphlets (retrieved October 10, 2012)
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This game-related article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games. |